1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a charge managing system that manages charging a fee for using an image forming apparatus. The present invention also relates to an image forming apparatus, a charge managing server, an image forming method, and an image forming program used in such a charge managing system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various charge systems are known for charging a fee for using an image forming apparatus with copying functions, fax functions, and/or scanning functions, for example. A charge system according to one example may be configured to count the number of printed sheets output from the image forming apparatus and determine the fee charged according to the number of printed sheets. It is noted that the fee charged for the use of an image forming apparatus may vary depending on various conditions such as the type of paper used. For example, the fee charged may vary depending on whether special paper dedicated for color copying is used or normal paper is used.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent No. 2005-338378 discloses an image forming apparatus that charges a fee generated for an image forming process and an authentication charge method.
According to techniques of the prior art, a fee for the use of an image forming apparatus may be charged based on the number of output sheets or the type of paper used. However, the fee cannot be adjusted in response to the use of a specific function of the image forming apparatus or the outputting of valuable information from the image forming apparatus, for example. In other words, the fee cannot be adjusted according to the function used or the value/type of information output by the image forming apparatus.